Vans Warped Tour is in its 22nd year and has become America’s longest running music festival!

“It’s fun to see so many people excited to be back on the road together. Warped continues to be a community that makes it all worth while.” says tour founder Kevin Lyman.

With a back-to-basics lineup that signals a return to the tour’s roots, the 22nd edition of WarpedTour welcomes back several fan favorites, including: American Authors, Atreyu, New Found Glory, Tonight Alive, Less Than Jake, Yellowcard, We The Kings, Sleeping With Sirens, Falling In Reverse, Four Year Strong, Reel Big Fish, Sum 41 and Pepper, to name a few.

NVMP is excited to check out some of the new talent hitting the tour this year like Dash Ten, Capsize, Mother Feather and Reckless Serenade (this year’s BBQ Band), as well as classic punk rockers like Less Than Jake, New Found Glory, Ballyhoo! and Reel Big Fish. We’re also beyond excited to check out The Interrupters! We’ll see you on the tour in New Jersey on Sunday July 17th at PNC Bank Arts Center – hopefully it won’t be recorded as the hottest day of the year again.

Since the band schedule is released daily for each tour date, here’s a list of bands and the stage that they will be playing on. This should hopefully help you plan ahead. Don’t forget to find the dude selling the full line up when you enter your venue – that thing is a lifesaver and well worth the couple of bucks. Or, you can fight your way to the inflatable schedule and take a picture.

Friday, June 28, 2013 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia is where you could find bands: Versus the World, Authority Zero and Ballyhoo! on their Summer Sickness Tour. As people packed in I got to hang out with Howi Spangler, lead singer and guitarist of Ballyhoo! Ballyhoo! plays reggae rock music with great lyrics and knows how to have fun. Their latest album Pineapple Grenade came out on June 25th and is also a shot which includes:

They recently had a new single called “Marijuana Laws” that expresses the bands enthusiasm to have marijuana laws banished. The set they played at the Hard Rock in Philadelphia was amazing. They kept the crowd dancing and singing along all night, and had wonderful stage presence and energy. The show overall was a must see. Getting to know Howi was the best part because he is such a down-to-earth guy who plays because he genuinely loves music and to perform. He took the time to answer some questions for Nevermind the Posers.

Ally (AF): Growing up in Aberdeen, MD was there a reggae rock scene? Did you all grow up in Aberdeen together or meet later on?

Howi Spangler (HS): Yeah, the drummer is my brother and J.R., Scott and I met in about 5th grade, maybe middle school. We started hanging out in high school; they weren’t in the band then, but another guy was. He was our bass player, then he left and we got another bass player. But then he left and that’s when we added J.R. and Scott. So we have been this line up for about 10 years. And as far as it goes with the reggae rock scene in Aberdeen, there wasn’t much, but there was a band we loved called Colouring Lesson, and they were playing reggae rock before anyone even knew what to call it. And I fell in love with Sublime and Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish and No Doubt. I just took it all and made my music. So we were really the ones around that area to make it known.

AF: How did you come up with the name Ballyhoo!?

HS: We were kids when we started the band. We were coming up with different names and a friend of ours said you should call your band Ballyhoo, it just means loud noise, crazy events, blatant advertising ‘look at me-look at me’, and it fit because I thought we were loud noise playing in my mom’s basement and it was really colorful in my mind. We just put the exclamation point on there and it was the first flier for our first show.

AF: As a band you have traveled all over North America, which city and state is your favorite to play in and why?

HS: There’s a few; I don’t know if there is a particular favorite, obviously we love playing Baltimore. Philly is always great and we played in New York City last night. St. Pete’s Florida is usually beautiful weather, San Diego, LA, and Hollywood are always great too.

AF: When you have free time, what do you enjoy doing?

HS: I like to play hidden object games on my laptop because I am a nerd, and I like to record demos and what not. I just love creating. I’ve always drawn; I used to draw a lot as a kid. I wanted to write books, draw comic books, create video games, make iPhone apps and of course create music. I write most of the music for Ballyhoo! and some of the guys will also have ideas and we just run with it if it fits with our music style. But we’re always looking to branch out, so we’re not putting out the same album. There are always new sounds to discover.

AF: Ballyhoo! has come a long way since the beginning and have a pretty loyal fan base now, how does it feel when you take the stage at shows?

HS: It feels amazing. It’s definitely uplifting, it’s an adrenaline rush knowing that people are there to hear our songs. To see them singing or screaming our songs back to us, and knowing that you came from sitting on your bed writing them down…the live experience is where it’s at. We try to always put on the best show possible, because when you put on a show the fans pay a hundred percent of the money to see you, so you put on a hundred percent performance. Just try to have a good time.

AF: What is one thing you try to achieve with your music?

HS: It all starts for me with myself. I write things for myself then once they get recorded, they become everyone else’s. Once it goes there, I want to make sure people have a good time, can relate to the songs. This one guy last week actually, came up to me and told me that he was actually in Afghanistan for a year and lost a few of his boys in an IED attack on his convoy. His friends passed right in front of him, and he went through this traumatized stage of his life. He has three kids and a wife, and he wanted to kill himself. He was watching a YouTube playlist or something and “Ricochet” came on and he just stopped. He told me this and I was like that’s really heavy, it’s just like, damn. So when I hear things like that, it’s not about me anymore. Now it’s we have a duty to give this music to give everyone. It’s wild man. I told that man that I was so glad that he was still here. We’re just always looking to promote positivity, just want to make people happy.

AF: If you can say one thing to your fans what would it be?

HS: Thank you, because there is no way we could keep doing this without you guys. We could not make it if they didn’t come to our shows and buy our merch, we just couldn’t do it. We get calls all the time saying that places want to book us because people want to see us and I just couldn’t be more appreciative of that. The fans keep us going.

AF: What is your definition of a poser?

HS: Haha, that’s awesome because poser is such a big word. I used to use it all the time as a kid, I think it’s somebody that doesn’t fully own up to it or whatever he’s trying to do. If you’re going for something, commit. Do it right, go all the way. Don’t do it cause you think it’s cool, do it because you love it. Do it because you’re into it and feel it. Just do you and do what you want to do and whatever you do, give all of yourself. That would be my definition of a poser.

Howi took the stage and rocked it with his fellow band members after that. They played about 15 songs from old and new albums and played “Marijuana Laws”. They took pineapple grenade shots on stage and played two encore songs. If you don’t have your copy of Pineapple Grenade yet, it’s a must get!

On February 9th, 2013 Maryland natives Ballyhoo! brought their eclectic mix of punk, pop, rock and reggae that refuses to be pigeon-holed into one genre to NYC’s Gramercy Theater. They’ve been associated with names such as 311 and The Dirty Heads, and earned some chops on the Van’s Warped Tour, giving them a well-deserved spot among some awesome infusions of rock and reggae.

As I stood in a crowd buzzing with friendly energy and the lingering scent of cannabis smoke, anticipation for the group gaining momentum and doing it themselves, grew. A feel-good band with a light heart and soul, Ballyhoo! engages their audience from start to finish, often feeling just as comfortable as listening in your own living room. Howi, Mista J, Blaze and Big D put on a great show, playing a variety of songs from their three albums; two of which were self-released. Musically, they were tight as a military band, possibly even sounding better live than some recorded versions. The guys have a great stage presence and really know how to engage the crowd, ensuring everyone can sing along even if it’s their first time seeing the band.

They kept banter short, unafraid to launch into the next song with charisma and confidence. In doing so, the crowd was entertained the whole set through; a sea of bodies could be seen from all angles moving and dancing along with the rhythms. I really admire their overall performance. Even though the music is what everyone has come for, the band offers a well-rounded experience. Despite the venue’s set up and size, Ballyhoo! effortlessly and cheerfully adapts, engaging their fans to be a proactive part of the show’s experience which guarantees a fun show no matter what night you get to see them.

Though it’s an understatement, fun really is one of the core elements of their live show. Never boring, it’s easy to tell the guys love what they do and want to share their passion, which keeps the fans moving from start to finish; eager to jump as high as they can each time they’re told to do so.

Overall, Ballyhoo! put on an unforgettable experience, even playing two new tracks to delight their New York listeners. None the less, older tracks like “Cerveza” and “Cali Girl” were noticeable crowd favorites. Easy to listen to, great to dance to and definitely music to take with you on a long trip or a cruise to the beach, Ballyhoo! did not disappoint and I recommend feasting your senses on all they have to offer as often as possible.